Well, I'm just barely getting this one in under the wire! Had another day full of family stuff and it was a really nice day, but I do not get much time to write when family is around lol. I had another scenario in progress for this prompt, decided it needs to be a separate story, so I had to completely start from scratch today. Thanks to Sylvia37 who gave me a delightful whumpy scenario that got this story rolling. This isn't very polished and isn't the best of the bunch, but hopefully it's still a nice whumpy read. :)

Additionally, this is going to be part 1 of 2. Tomorrow's prompt will be the second half of this little scenario. :)

No. 25: I THINK I'LL JUST COLLAPSE RIGHT HERE, THANKS

prompt options: Disorientation, Blurred Vision, Ringing Ears

setting: Season Seven

the boys were investigating a case involving an old mine. they were almost out of the mine when there was an explosion...

The explosion threw Dean backwards.

That would have been bad enough, but hitting the wall was icing on top. It was a good thing that it was rotted planks of wood and not rock or he would've been dead, so all things considered, it could have been worse.

Stunned and breathless, Dean wasn't exactly in the mood to look on the bright side, though. Dust and smoke clogged the air, making it even more difficult to replace the air his lungs were so desperately screaming for. He coughed, lungs screaming in protest. It took a few struggling gasps until his lungs settled down.

Once breathing was no longer an all consuming priority, other things moved to the forefront of his mind.

His shoulders and back throbbed from the violent collision with the wall and his ears were ringing. A few tentative movements reassured him that nothing important was broken. Maybe a rib or three, but he was breathing. He opened his eyes to a smoky haze. Flames licked at the periphery of his vision.

Time to go.

He pushed himself into a sitting position with some difficulty. Shoving wood and other debris off himself, he blinked against the smoke. They'd almost made it out before the ancient mine had exploded.

Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Dean snorted and immediately regretted it when his headache spiked. Something crashed somewhere, the sound muffled under the ringing in his ears. It was a strong reminder that they needed to get out of here.

"Sam?" he called, then dissolved into a coughing fit.

Everything was muffled, but there was no answering call from his brother. It was a red flag and spurred him into action faster than anything else could. Getting to his feet, he braced a hand against what was left of the wall he'd been blown through.

Every direction he looked, all he could see was smoke and flame. It was a nightmare made infinitely worse because he had no idea where his brother was. The last he'd seen, Sam had been headed for the entrance. Maybe he'd actually made it outside before the explosion.

A bit of hope sparking like the exposed wires to his left, Dean started stumbling in that direction. Tripping and stumbling over the debris, he continued to shout Sam's name, still without reply. Of course, all he could hear was that persistent ringing, so maybe Sam had been responding all along. Maybe Sam was trapped under some of the fallen beams, shouting himself hoarse for Dean to stop and help and Dean had walked right past him. He almost paused to go back to double check.

And then he caught sight of Sam.

Bright sunshine behind him, he stood just outside the mine entrance. His hands were extended as he stared into the mine with undisguised horror. He was shouting something, but Dean still couldn't hear him. Sam seemed to be staring straight at him, but maybe there was too much smoke for him to be able to distinguish Dean from the darkness.

"Sam, I'm right here," he called out, drawing closer.

A hint of relief flooded Sam's expression, but he didn't relax much. He stumbled over a pile of rocks, one hand landing against a beam just before he would have crashed to the ground.

"Just give me a second, I'm coming." Dean made his way through the wreckage, relieved to see his brother standing and apparently unharmed. "I can't hear what you're saying, my ears are still ringing."

Frowning, Sam called out something that Dean still couldn't catch.

"Hang on," Dean said, shaking his head and waving a hand at his ear.

Sam kept talking, though, his gaze flitting all over the place. One hand still on the beam, he reached out with his other.

Dean drew closer and some of his relief went up in smoke. Sam had no obvious injuries, but the closer he got, the more Dean could tell something was very wrong.

"Dean!"

Finally!

"I'm coming as fast as I can, Sam. I can hear you a little now."

"Are you alright?" Sam started moving forward, stumbled over a dip in the dirt and wound up on his hands and knees.

"I'm fine," Dean said, rushing the last few feet toward his brother. "Let's get out of here."

He reached down and hauled his brother upright, his ribs screaming at the motion.

"Are you alright?" Sam repeated, his hands gripping Dean's arms tight enough to leave bruises.

Dean kept walking, awkwardly dragging his brother further from the destroyed mine. He shook his head and said, "Come on, Sam, we need to get out of here. I'm fine. Just bruised and my ears are ringing from the explosion."

"Ribs? How bad?" Sam finally let go of one of his arms and they were able to move a bit easier.

"Cracked or broken, but I'm fine."

Sam nearly walked into a tree, Dean yanked him aside just in the nick of time.

"Stop worrying about me," Dean said, standing still and looking at his brother. "Pay attention to where you're going."

"Dean…"

Sam's voice trailed off, his hand still like a vice around Dean's arm. He reached out with his other hand, fumbling until his hand smacked Dean's chest. Fingers gripping Dean's jacket, Sam was staring at him with wide eyes.

Frowning, Dean asked, "Are you ok? Did you hit your head?"

Something was wrong. No blood that Dean could see. No bruises, nothing obvious. But Sam was clinging to him and looked like he was going into shock. Realization started to dawn.

It's got to be the hallucinations.

It didn't take much to trigger a hallucination. Didn't take much for Sam to lose focus, to be lost in memories of the Cage. A flaming, smoking, dark mine had to be prime real estate for the devil in his mind to exploit.

"Sam, are you with me?" Dean patted his brother's cheek while checking his pupils.

"Yes," Sam nodded, but he continued to stare through Dean, each breath faster and shallower than the last.

"Are you sure?"

"I...I think so. I am with you, aren't I?" Sam asked, his voice almost too quiet for Dean to decipher the words.

"You're with me," Dean said, filling his voice with as much confidence and conviction as he could. "We're safe. We're ok. Right? You didn't hit your head or something?"

"No, but I can't… I can't…"

Not good, so not good.

"Hey, hey, don't freak out on me," Dean said, hoping he could keep ahead of whatever panic attack was getting started. "You're going to hyperventilate. Slow down and tell me what-"

"I can't see," Sam interrupted, terror in his tone and in every tense inch of his body. "I can't see. Dean, I can't see!"

tbc...

I know it's a cliffhanger lol but the conclusion will come tomorrow, so not too terribly long to wait. :)

tomorrow's theme/prompts: No. 26: IF YOU THOUGHT THE HEAD TRAUMA WAS BAD..., Migraine, Concussion, Blindness